Short on time but craving big flavours? Say hello to your new go-to recipe – Korean Cheesy Buldak Chicken! This ‘fire chicken’ dish gets you an indulgently cheesy, spicy meal in less than 30 minutes!
This Cheesy Buldak Chicken has been on my latest weeknight rotation! Spicy Korean fire chicken, finished off with oozy, creamy, melted cheese – these bold flavours are not for the faint of heart. I went through a few variations of Korean Buldak Chicken before settling on this final recipe; initial versions were just far too salty. This recipe has just a good amount of saltiness, balanced out with sweetness and a good punch of spice. With that, let’s make some buldak!
Why you will LOVE this recipe
- Quick & Easy: This recipe will get you a complete Buldak Chicken dish, with the use of any pan you have at home, and melted cheese without removing this off the stovetop!
- Fiery Flavour Explosion: The dish lives up to its name with a fiery flavor profile! The combination of gochugaru, gochujang, and the nuttiness of the sesame oil creates a symphony of heat and flavour that’s addictive.
- Creamy Cheese Indulgence: Cheese lovers rejoice! The addition of melted cheese takes this dish to the next level. The gooey, melted cheese blankets the chicken, creating a harmonious contrast to the spicy marinade.
The Key Ingredients for Cheesy Buldak Chicken
- Chicken: The star of the show, are boneless chicken pieces. I used chicken thighs for the juiciest, most flavourful bites, marinated overnight for the best results. You can use chicken breast, but be mindful of the cook time as it dries out easily.
- Gochugaru (Korean Red Pepper Flakes): This vibrant red spice is the backbone of the dish, adding a fiery kick. Gochugaru not only infuses heat but also imparts a deep, smoky flavour that is signature to the dish’s character. Can other chilli flakes work? Yes, to a certain degree. You will need to test out the spice levels and adjust accordingly. Sometimes I use Thai chilli flakes which are very spicy, so I would just use 1 teaspoon of it, versus the 1/4 cup of gochugaru in this recipe. The dish might also not be as vibrantly red in colour, as gochugaru imparts a gorgeously fiery colour.
- Gochujang (Korean Red Pepper Paste): A staple in Korean cuisine, gochujang is a fermented chili paste that balances the heat with a hint of sweetness. Its complex umami profile adds depth to the marinade and sauce.
- Cheese: The pièce de résistance, cheese turns this dish into a gooey, decadent masterpiece. As it melts and mingles with the fiery sauce, it tempers the heat and adds a luxurious creaminess. I used Mozzarella Cheese, and it’s my favourite type of cheese for Buldak Chicken. The flavour is creamy and mild, perfect for the bold, spicy flavour of the Buldak.
- Sugars and Honey: Sweetness helps to balance the intensity of the spice and saltiness! In this recipe I used a combination of regular sugar, with the optional brown sugar to add a caramelised depth of flavour to the dish. Other sweet ingredients you can use include honey and mirin. You can also just use regular sugar, if that’s all you have!
- Sesame Oil: Sesame is one of my FAVOURITE flavours in the world, and I especially love it in Buldak. Gochujang can be a bit much, as a flavouring agent – and it’s the main flavour profile in Buldak. A good splash of sesame oil will add a depth of much-needed flavour to the dish.
- Garlic and Ginger: Grated or minced, these two are the main aromatics for Buldak Chicken.
Other Ingredients:
- Soy Sauce: Soy Sauce will help to season the Buldak and round off the savouriness of the dish. Do take note of the salt levels in the dish already – gochujang is salty by itself. The first few rounds I added a tablespoon of light soy sauce, which yielded a dish that was far too salty. In fact, sometimes I skip it altogether! Especially if I’m using a new tub of gochujang and I’m not sure of the salt levels. I can always add on the soy sauce at the end of the dish, if needed.
- Chillies (optional): To bump up the spice even more and impart some freshness, would be gochu or fresh chillies! I’m using fresh green chillies, which is not that spicy, but I love the contrast of colour it adds to the red Buldak.
How to Make Cheesy Buldak Chicken
1. Marinade the Chicken
Add all of the buldak sauce ingredients with the chicken in a bowl and toss to combine. A tip is to combine the sauce ingredients first, before adding the chicken in to combine for even flavouring.
Option to marinade this overnight.
2. Pan Fry the Chicken
Cooking the buldak is so easy over the stovetop. You will need a pan. A cast iron pan or skillet can get you the closest result to restaurant-style buldak chicken, but I don’t find it necessary for home cooking! Use any pan available to you – I’m using my regular non-stick pan.
Add oil to your pan, and heat over medium heat.
Once hot, pour in all of the chicken along with the marinade.
Spread chicken in the pan, and allow to sear for about 2-3 minutes, before flipping or stir frying to the other side for even searing.
3. Braise the Chicken
Add water or stock to the pan and gently stir fry to combine with the chicken. If there are charred bits at the bottom of the pan, deglaze and scrape at it to combine with the liquid. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, and braise the chicken to cook through. This should take an additional 5 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken.
4. Top with Cheese
Once chicken is cooked through, and the sauce should have thickened slightly as well, top with cheese. Cover with a lid, so that the cheese can melt fully. Once cheese melts, turn off the heat. Take off the lid and garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately!
What to Serve Buldak Chicken with?
This is great with rice, but I also like to have it with lettuce leaves.
TIP! Once you’re done with the chicken, and if there is sauce left in the pan, throw in cooked rice and make fried rice out of it!
More Recipes Like This
Korean Cheesy Buldak Chicken
4
servings10
minutes15
minutesIngredients
- Chicken & Marinade
500g boneless chicken thighs, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/4 cup gochugaru Korean hot pepper flakes
1/4 cup gochujang
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsps sesame oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar (or honey/mirin/corn syrup)
2 green chili peppers, chopped
6 large garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp grated ginger
- Cheesy Chicken Buldak
2 tbsps vegetable oil
1/4 cup water or unsalted chicken stock
2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded (optional)
2 stalks green onions, for garnish
1/2 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish
Directions
- In a large bowl, mix together the gochugaru, gochujang, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, brown sugar chilies, garlic and ginger, to form a thick paste.
- Add the chicken and stir through marinade to combine. Option to marinade overnight.
Heat a pan to medium heat. Add the chicken along with all of the marinade. Allow the chicken to sear on one side for about 2-3 minutes, before stir frying to flipping to the other side for an even sear. - Add water or chicken stock to the pan. Stir to combine with the chicken. Deglaze and scrape the bottom of the pan for any stuck spice bits to combine with the sauce. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes, or until chicken cooks through. Option to cover with a lid. The marinade/sauce should reduce a bit. Remove lid.
- Sprinkle on cheese over the chicken. Cover back with the lid, and allow cheese to melt for about 1-2 minutes.
- Once cheese melts, take off the lid and turn off the heat. Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds and serve immediately.
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